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Kevin Jepsen: Signs deal with Nationals

by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire

Jepsen has agreed to a deal with Washington on Thursday, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports.

Jepsen will provide some depth to the bullpen by signing a minor-league deal with the team. The veteran reliever was released by Arizona prior to Opening Day, and had accumulated a 5.98 ERA with a 35:21 K:BB during the 2016 season. Jepsen was much better in both 2014 and 2015 (posting a combined ERA under 2.50), but it's likely that the right-hander is rusty and will need time in the minors before earning the opportunity to appear in high-leverage situations with the big-league club.

Jepsen was released by the Diamondbacks on Saturday, MLB.com's Steve Gilbert reports.

The 32-year-old reliever posted a 12.27 ERA in 3.2 innings this spring, so it's no surprise that he was cut loose. It's possible that he catches on elsewhere, but it's hard to see him earning high-leverage innings anytime soon.

After compiling a 2.33 ERA across 69.2 innings in 2015, Jepsen fell apart completely while splitting last season between the Twins and Rays. In addition to seeing his strikeout rate drop to 6.3 K/9, Jepsen served up a whopping 12 homers in 49.2 innings, which was the chief reason behind his bloated 5.98 ERA. Jepsen's prior success at the MLB level will at least give him an opportunity to audition for a bullpen gig with the Diamondbacks, but at 32 years old, he could already be past his expiration date.

Jepsen became a free agent Thursday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Jepsen joined the Rays partway through the season, but his results with Tampa Bay were not much better than those in the Twin Cities. He has a wealth of major league experience and is only a year removed from a very strong campaign, which could help the 32-year-old ink a major league contract over the winter.

Jepsen notched his fourth hold with a scoreless, one-strikeout inning against the Blue Jays on Friday.

Jepsen bounced back from having given up an earned run in each of his last two outings with a particularly sharp effort Friday. He fired 11 of 14 pitches for strikes in the seventh while protecting a 4-2 lead, setting down Kevin Pillar, Devon Travis and Jose Bautista with relative ease. The 32-year-old continues to have trouble finding consistency and still sports a bloated 1.61 WHIP and 5.21 ERA, so it remains to be seen if he can build some momentum in the campaign's final month.